Recommended Reading: 5 Leadership Books I Love

Leading virtually (e.g., Skype, Instant Message) is one example of how leadership has changed for this generation. This is one of the insights in my Forbes Leadership post on Millennials and leadership, where I interviewed NY Times best-selling author Lindsey Pollak.

You Already Know How To Be Great by Alan Fine
Fine convincingly argues that we often don’t need more knowledge. Instead we should tap into the skills we already have. This easy-to-read book includes detailed coaching role plays.

Scaling Up Excellence by Robert Sutton and Huggy RaoI liked this book so much I dedicated an entire post to it: http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2014/02/19/scaling-up-excellence-is-not-just-an-executive-issue-what-individuals-can-do/. It’s great for managers, but also individual contributors looking to influence.

Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks by August Turak
You might not expect a business book to highlight monks as the prototype to follow. Turak makes a compelling case for how we can derive success on the secular side from the religious Trappists. Lessons such as aiming past the target and the importance of service and selflessness were my favorites.